Streptococcus pneumoniae is a gram positive bacteria which is a major causative agent in invasive infections in animals and humans, such as sepsis, meningitis, otitis media and lobar pneumonia (Tuomanen et al. New Engl. J. Med. 322:1280–1284 (1995)). As part of the infective process, pneumococci readily bind to non-inflamed human epithelial cells of the upper and lower respiratory tract by binding to eukaryotic carbohydrates in a lectin-like manner (Cundell et al., Micro. Path. 17:361–374 (1994)). Conversion to invasive pneumococcal infections for bound bacteria may involve the local generation of inflammatory factors which may activate the epithelial cells to change the number and type of receptors on their surface (Cundell et al., Nature, 377:435–438 (1995)). Apparently, one such receptor, platelet activating factor (PAF) is engaged by the pneumococcal bacteria and within a very short period of time (minutes) from the appearance of PAF, pneumococci exhibit strongly enhanced adherence and invasion of tissue. Certain soluble receptor analogs have been shown to prevent the progression of pneumococcal infections (Idanpaan-Heikkila et al., J. Inf. Dis., 176:704–712 (1997)). A number of various other proteins have been suggested as being involved in the pathogenicity of S. pneumoniae. There remains a need for identifying polypeptides having epitopes in common from various strains of S. pneumoniae in order to utilize such polypeptides as vaccines to provide protection against a wide variety of S. pneumoniae. 